Around The Bay 30 KM 2016

AROUND THE BAY 30 KM 2016

April 4th 2016

Going into this race the plan was to run my marathon pace. Not having the training for a Spring Marathon to back me up M-pace over 30km would be a good challenge.

I try not to look at the weather until a few days before a race because 1) It can change 2) I don’t like wasting energy worrying about things I cannot control. Instead of letting the weather stress me out I focus on how it shapes my race plan and what I can do to execute a smart race. The conditions weren’t ideal with strong winds hitting you hard for a long stretch before you head into the final 10km with rolling hills. With this in mind I wanted to start off on the conservative side so I would be able to still move in on the last 10km.

A good group had formed in the early stages of the race and although they were on the fast end of my desired pace I thought it would be better to stick with them so I wouldn’t be left alone in the windy sections. Our group actually ended up catching another smaller group ahead of us at witch point I dropped to the back for a little shelter and more space.

Around the 20km I found myself pulling ahead of the group on the rolling hills. My Garmin showed that I was still holding my goal pace so I figured that they were dropping off pace vs me speeding up and over reaching. From this point on I was able to look ahead and spot runners that were struggling in no mans land. I and focused on catching up to them and picking them off.

With 4km to go I tried to pick up the pace and finish strong. Unfortunately my body didn’t respond. I had an extra Endurance Tap in my pocket but my stomach was feeling a little cramped from the Gatorade and I didn’t want to risk making it worse by taking anything else. I was able to maintain my pace but I had no extra speed. Knowing that I didn’t have another gear I had to look over my shoulder to see if there was anyone on me. I knew Tyler and Dave wouldn’t be far behind me. Both of them are training for a Spring marathon and I know that they have more training miles logged and more fitness in the bank. Luckily I had put enough distance between us earlier on and they didn’t catch me.

27/30km of the run I felt like I was in good fighting shape. During the last 3km I felt like I was drowning. After the final push I crossed the line light headed , nauseous and relived that that I was able to hang on to my place.

Over all I am really happy with this performance. This Winter/Spring cycle has been more about attaining a good level of fitness without driving myself into the ground and carrying this fitness over to my spring/summer training instead of needing to take a break and hit the restart button.

Congratulations to everyone that raced yesterday! I am looking forward to seeing some fast Spring Marathons. I‘ll admit I am a little sad that I won’t be running one but I’ve got to take some time to work on other things before I gear up for a Fall Marathon.